Anticipation and prevention of real risks of virtual environments in psychiatry.
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41617937.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41746-026-02348-4 and PMC identifier 12909791.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Extended reality (=XR) provides promising opportunities for psychiatry in the future. However, psychiatric patients appear to be particularly vulnerable to virtual exposure. With a focus on virtual embodiment and virtual social interaction, we therefore, 1. describe the specific risks of virtual exposures, 2. discuss them in relation to specific psychopathological symptoms and 3. outline initial strategies that enable safe exposure with a strong emphasis on participatory designs.